downtown D.C. and the near Northwest
Sex therapy in Dupont Circle, DC
AASECT-certified sex therapy for Dupont Circle, in person and by secure video.
Who you would be working with
Vanessa Cushing, LPC, NCC, MS — AASECT-Certified Sex Therapist, MS from Johns Hopkins University, Certificate in Sex Therapy from the University of Michigan. Fewer than one in a thousand licensed therapists in the United States hold AASECT certification.
The District office is at 1660 L Street NW, Suite 308, a short walk from Dupont Circle and a block or two from Farragut North, so this is a neighbourhood where in-person sessions are genuinely available rather than implied. Dupont and Logan Circle clients skew younger and more openly queer than the rest of the District, and a lot of first calls here are about desire, kink or non-monogamy being treated as a problem by a previous therapist rather than as something to work with.
What Dupont Circle clients most often bring
- Desire and arousal concerns in people in their late twenties and thirties
- Kink and non-monogamy handled without pathologising
- Queer and trans clients wanting a sex therapist who does not need it explained
- Performance anxiety in high-pressure professional lives
That list is not exhaustive — it is what actually comes through the door from downtown D.C. and the near Northwest. The full range of concerns treated is on the Washington, D.C. page.
How it works from Dupont Circle
Both in-person and video sessions are available in Dupont Circle. Most clients end up choosing video after the first few weeks, because the exercises are practised at home and the commute stops being worth it.
Sex therapy is talk therapy and structured homework. No examination, no contact, no observation — not in this practice and not in any legitimate one. If a provider anywhere suggests otherwise, that is the end of the conversation.
Areas served around Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle · Logan Circle · Kalorama · Adams Morgan · West End · Farragut · U Street · and everywhere else in Washington, D.C..
Common questions from Dupont Circle
Are you actually located in Dupont Circle?
Yes — this is the practice's home base, and in-person sessions are available here alongside video.
Which areas around Dupont Circle do you see clients from?
Anywhere in Washington, D.C., including Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan, West End, Farragut, U Street. The licence is state-wide, so the only requirement is that you are physically in Washington, D.C. during the session.
Will anyone find out I am doing this?
Sessions are held over a HIPAA-compliant platform, notes are kept to the clinical minimum, and nothing is billed through insurance unless you specifically ask for a superbill to submit yourself. If confidentiality is the thing standing between you and starting, raise it in the free consultation and get a specific answer rather than a reassuring one.
How long does this take?
Sex therapy is usually shorter than people expect. Many concerns — performance anxiety, desire discrepancy, restarting after a long avoidance — move meaningfully within eight to sixteen sessions. Longstanding pain conditions or work following trauma generally take longer, and you will be told which category you are in rather than left to wonder.
Nearby and related
- Sex therapy across Washington, D.C. — the state-wide page
- Sex therapist in Capitol Hill
- Sex therapist in Georgetown
- Vanessa Cushing's credentials — AASECT certification, Johns Hopkins, and where to verify both
Read next
- What sex therapy actually is
- AASECT-certified vs. non-certified
- Individual vs. couples sex therapy
- Does insurance cover sex therapy?
Fifteen minutes, free, no obligation. Bring the question you have been avoiding asking anyone.